Excitation-Gap Scaling near Quantum Critical Three-Dimensional Antiferromagnets

Phys Rev Lett. 2017 Apr 7;118(14):147206. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.147206. Epub 2017 Apr 6.

Abstract

By means of large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we examine the quantum critical scaling of the magnetic excitation gap (the triplon gap) in a three-dimensional dimerized quantum antiferromagnet, the bicubic lattice, and identify characteristic multiplicative logarithmic scaling corrections atop the leading mean-field behavior. These findings are in accord with field-theoretical predictions that are based on an effective description of the quantum critical system in terms of an asymptotically free field theory, which exhibits a logarithmic decay of the renormalized interaction strength upon approaching the quantum critical point. Furthermore, using bond-based singlet spectroscopy, we identify the amplitude (Higgs) mode resonance within the antiferromagnetic region. We find a Higgs mass scaling in accord with field-theoretical predictions that relate it by a factor of sqrt[2] to the corresponding triplon gap in the quantum disordered regime. In contrast to the situation in lower-dimensional systems, we observe in this three-dimensional coupled-dimer system a distinct signal from the amplitude mode also in the dynamical spin structure factor. Its width is observed to vanish proportional to the Higgs mass in the accessible proximity to the quantum critical point.